Very soon, after those people at the scene had been taught a lesson, the woman finally stopped. At this moment, the twenty new recruits could finally see her face clearly—her hair was tied back in a single tail, slender and reaching her shoulders. Most striking, though, was her all-black outfit and the heavy makeup on her face, which together gave her a dangerously alluring look.
"Who is the Third-Rank General?" the woman asked the twenty recruits.
Everyone pointed directly at Yang Han, while Yang Han glanced around, about to explain that he was only a Fourth-Rank General—when did he become a Third-Rank?
The Second-Rank General who brought him here—whether it was a mistake or deliberate—had reported him as a Third-Rank General. Was it intentional, or just an error?
"Me—" Yang Han had just said the word "me" when the woman rushed straight over.
Her speed was incredible—Yang Han barely caught a glimpse of her before she struck, her fist landing directly on his body. Luckily, her first punch was just a test.
Unlike the others, who were sent flying with a single punch, Yang Han only staggered back a few steps. He rubbed his chest and said, "You've got the wrong person."
"Not bad. Solid enough!" The woman grinned wickedly.
The Second-Rank General, seeing that Yang Han was unharmed and hearing the woman's praise, finally relaxed—as if his whole job was to satisfy her.
Yang Han saw that the woman still hadn't understood, so he glanced at the Second-Rank General. Seeing that it had nothing to do with him, Yang Han could only say helplessly, "Miss..."
"What do you mean, 'this person'? No need to be so formal—just call me Miss!" The woman snorted coldly.
"Alright, Miss, you've misunderstood. I'm not a Third-Rank General at all, I'm just Fourth-Rank," Evan Yang said, feeling frustrated.
"Fourth-Rank?" The woman paused, looked at Evan Yang, then glanced at the Second-Rank General.
The Second-Rank General explained, "I swear I saw 'Third-Rank'—did I get it wrong?"
Helpless, Evan Yang took out his pass token, which clearly had the number four engraved on it.
The Second-Rank General had nothing to say, while the woman smiled, "Even as a Fourth-Rank General, you're impressive. You took my punch and only retreated a few steps."
Upon hearing the woman's words, the Second-Rank General's nerves finally relaxed.
"So there's no need for you to attack me, right?" Evan Yang knew the woman's strength far exceeded his own, so he didn't want to go all out and kept his burst power hidden.
The woman didn't answer Evan Yang right away. Instead, she asked the remaining nineteen recruits, "What rank are you all?"
The others looked at each other, then reported their ranks one by one. Evan Yang's was still the highest. The woman turned to him and said, "You stay. The rest of you, go heal your wounds if you need to."
"Why do I have to stay?" Evan Yang asked, baffled.
"You have solid fundamentals. I want to spar with you," the woman said.
"Why not pick the Second-Rank General? I just got here." Evan Yang really didn't want to fight this mysterious woman, especially since even the Second-Rank General treated her with such respect.
"No need. Just you," the woman replied.
The Second-Rank General chuckled to himself, then quickly led the wounded and the other nineteen away.
Once everyone else had left, leaving only Evan Yang behind, he said, "Miss, I'm just a Fourth-Rank. That Second-Rank General is much more suited to spar with you."
"No way. If I injure him, the palace loses a valuable helper. You're perfect for practice," the woman said.
Evan Yang couldn't accept her logic. Out of all the people, she insisted on picking him, a mere Fourth-Rank General. He couldn't help but ask, "Why not practice with someone else? What good does it do you to pick me?"
"It does me good!" the woman replied with a laugh.
"Is she crazy or what?" Evan Yang cursed inwardly. But the woman had already made her move. This time, her speed slowed a bit, but her attacks were much stronger—each punch at least at the Divine Cauldron Great Perfection level.
Evan Yang had no idea where she came from, so he kept dodging and said, "Miss, just pick someone else. I'm really not suitable."
"Come on, you think this is some beauty contest? Not suitable? I just need someone to practice with, what's the big deal?" The woman saw Evan Yang's speed was faster than most Fourth-Rank Generals and grew even more curious, refusing to let him leave.
Evan Yang ignored her and kept trying to persuade her to let him go, but she clung to him like a shadow.
Seeing her attacks couldn't land, she sped up, and finally managed to hit Evan Yang. He was annoyed but didn't dare fight back, glaring at her, "Miss, if you keep this up, I'll really strike back."
"Strike back? Good! No one has ever dared say they'll hit me. Today, I'm going to force you to attack," the woman said, delighted.
If she wasn't acting crazy, Evan Yang would think she was possessed. He said unhappily, "Don't push me."
"So what if I push you? Come on!" The woman laughed.
At this point, the woman's speed matched Evan Yang's. He was only using two steps of Phantom Step Art, making him twice as fast as a typical late Divine Cauldron expert.
So in her eyes, Evan Yang was different from other Fourth-Rank Generals, which made her even more determined to keep him as her sparring partner.
Evan Yang held back as much as he could, keeping his speed at double so she wouldn't notice anything unusual.
"Kid, why aren't you fighting back?" The woman laughed as Evan Yang kept dodging.
"Don't push me," Evan Yang said, annoyed.
"I'm pushing you, so what?" The woman said provocatively when Evan Yang still refused to fight back.
After dozens of exchanges, Evan Yang finally couldn't take it anymore. He cursed inwardly, "If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll think I'm easy to bully—even if she's a master, so what!"
The woman's speed matched Evan Yang's, but she didn't know he was about to strike. Suddenly, Evan Yang moved, darted behind her, and slapped her on the back.
The palm wasn't very strong, but it did cause her some injury. Evan Yang then flashed aside.
[Irrelevant web novel prompt skipped.]
The woman wasn't angry; instead, she was surprised. "How did you do that?"
"I told you, if you keep pushing me, I'll strike back," Evan Yang said, frustrated.
"I'm asking how you did it. Just now, how did your speed suddenly jump so high?" The woman asked curiously.
"Your speed is fast too—you're just holding back," Evan Yang replied, speechless.
"That's different. My cultivation is much higher, so of course I can go fast. But you're only late-stage Divine Cauldron," the woman countered.
"No comment," Evan Yang shot her a glare.
"Fine, don't tell me. But I like it! Heh, I don't believe you'll never spill." With that, the woman sped up and went after Evan Yang again.
"Are you done yet?" Evan Yang said, exasperated, dodging quickly.
"I'm not done—I want to make you tell me," the woman laughed again.
Evan Yang had just boosted his speed eightfold, so he looked very fast and managed to hit the woman. Now, she raised her speed tenfold, and Evan felt the pressure mount.
"Hurry up—is that all you've got?" the woman teased.
"You're impossible!" Evan Yang said, helpless.
"All the elders say that about me," the woman replied with a smile, unfazed.